Written by pioneers in the field of couples therapy, the classic edition of In Quest of the Mythical Mate presents Dr. Ellyn Bader and Dr. Peter Pearson's methodology for analyzing how couples' relationships develop and grow over time. They provide practical intervention strategies that promote both individual development and relationship strengthening. Originally published in 1988, this foundational couples therapy text introduces the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy (also known as the Bader-Pearson Model). It provides a structured yet flexible approach to understanding and treating relationship issues. It offers practical diagnostic tools and treatment strategies that therapists can use with couples in distress including questionnaires, innovative assessment techniques, and specific therapeutic interventions. This essential book is intended for marriage and family therapists, psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals who treat couples.

Ellyn Bader, Ph.D., is in private practice and is the director of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California. Ellyn and her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson, are co-creators of the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. Over the past 37 years, she has conducted professional training programs in couples therapy and has trained therapists throughout the United States as well as Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

Peter Pearson, Ph.D., is co-founder of The Couples Institute and co-creator
of the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. For more than four decades,
he specialized in working with highly distressed and challenging couples and
in training therapists around the world to become more effective, courageous,
and skillful with couples. His professional fascination has always been and will
always be with the couples who are hardest to help. He is also co-author of Tell
Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage.